[BLOG] Some Thursday links

[rfmcdonald]

• blogTO notes that Canadian Backpackers Hostel is set to close down to make room for condos.


• Centauri Dreams looks at ways to use the Earth's transit of the Sun to find potentially watching extraterrestrial civilizations.


• Dangerous Minds notes the human zoo.


• The Dragon's Gaze looks at the packed planetary system of young HL Tauri.


• The Dragon's Tales notes that primates in North America were not outcompeted by rodents.


• Geocurrents maps the substantial progress in development seen in Brazil.


• Language Log notes intriguing research suggesting some songbirds have a capacity for grammar.


• Lawyers, Guns and Money notes the environmental injustice of hog farms.


• Marginal Revolution notes it is now possible to get loans with negative interest rates in Germany.


• Rachel Kessler reflects on otherness and the need for empathy in the works of Octavia Butler.


• The Russian Demographics Blog commemorates the first mention of the name "Lithuania" in March 9, 1009.


• Torontoist debates Ontario's funding of the Catholic separate school system.


• Transit Toronto looks at the latest plans for Smartttrack in Toronto.